It is well established in the art to produce hard and soft contact lenses in an automated production process with reusable moulds. Depending on the material from which the contact lenses are made, and in accordance with the production method applied the contact lenses must be immersed in extraction solutions, and/or rinsing solutions and/or coating solutions and/or loading solutions in order to obtain the desired lens product which may be worn in direct contact with a wearer's eyes. During these process steps it must be ascertained that the entire contact lens is sufficiently wetted and treated with the respective treatment fluid. The contact lenses are usually accommodated or held individually in respective containers and transported inside these containers through a number of dipping baths which are filled with the respective treatment fluid. In order to have the lenses properly wetted and treated it must be ascertained that the treatment fluid comes into contact with all sides of the contact lenses. Care must be taken that no portion of the contact lens is “shaded-off” by the walls of the container. The transport of the contact lenses through the dipping baths must be accomplished automatically, and the lenses must not be exposed to undue strain due to excessive agitation in order to avoid the risk of damage. The transport of the contact lenses through the dipping baths should be carried out smoothly, with the entire lens freely floating in the treatment fluid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for transporting contact lenses through dipping baths, while ensuring that the contact lenses are properly wetted and immersed in the respective treatment fluid. The apparatus and the method shall be compatible with the continuous production processes for contact lenses.